Knight in Shining Armor
by Cloud-Bahamut
Summary: Chapter 9 is up. This is a fic about the time Cloud spent in Nibelhelm as an MP. Please Read and Review
1. At the gates

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, the greatest game ever made.  
  
A/N: I know I'm working on another fic, but this idea just wouldn't leave my head so here it is. You should know what its about from the summary. For everyone who reads my other fic, this one will be serious, so don't look for much humor here. The opeining is written from Cloud's POV.  
  
Chapter One: At the gates...  
  
Raining. It was raining outside of the truck, driving to the last place I wanted to go back to. I looked around and notice the other people in the truck. There was the great Sephiroth. I should be honored that they allowed a lowly grunt like me to be in his presence. Then there's my friend Zack. He was jumping around, happy because they gave him a new materia. He had been so happy back at the base, he had given me one of his items, saying he wouldn't need it. I was still holding on to the X-Potion, which was now in the pocket of my uniform. I suddenly found myself thinking of my home. I'm going back, I thought, not very pleased with the idea. I'm going back a failure. I told them all I'd make it into SOLIDER. I told them all that I would be great like Sephiroth. Now, I was riding in a truck with the legend himself, my friend Zack, and some other guy who was just like me, a nobody. The worse part was, I felt horrible, the motion sickness getting to me yet again. I wish I was strong, like Zack and Sephiroth. I'm so pathetic. I failed all of them. Especially Tifa, she wanted me to come back and be her hero, her knight in shining armor. hah.   
  
Look at me, I'm a joke. I failed to get into SOLIDER and now I'm just gonna wind up as some pathetic grunt for the rest of my life. I'm so weak. Why can't I be strong like them, why can't I come back as some great hero and get everyone to notice me, even Tifa. She'd see how strong I'd becomce and really notice me. Then I could be her hero, just like she made me promise. Yet, I'm not some strong hero, I'm just a nobody. I can't be her hero. Hell I don't even want to face any of them. I can already her the old bullies laughing at what I'd become, after all that bragging I did about becoming a great SOLIDER. I can alredy hear Tifa's dad calling me worthless, just like he did after Tifa got hurt. The only one who wouldn't laugh at me was mom, and maybe Tifa. No she definatly wouldn't laugh at me. She never laughed when the other kids made fun of me. No she wouldn't laugh, but she'd be disappointed. She would see that I had failed and that I couldn't be what I promised to be. How can I tell all of them that I failed. I can't see any of them. If they see what I've become, then they will all think they were right about me. They'll think I'm just a worthless loser who couldn't make it. I can't let anyone find out its me. Not even mom or Tifa.  
  
Cloud was shaken from his thoghts by the sound of Zack's voice. "You know Cloud, if your felling sick, you could take off your helmet" Zack said with his commanding tone of voice. 'Everything Zack does and can do is what I dreamed about, being strong and getting respect from everyone' Cloud thought, while taking off his helmet, 'He's strong, he's a good leader, he's become friends with Sephiroth or at least as close to a friend as you can be to Sephiroth. He is everything that I want to be. He is strong and I am weak. He's this great SOLIDER First Class, while I'm just a loser' Cloud thought, then started to focus on not throwing up all over Zack or Sephiroth.   
  
Zack gave him a sympathetic look and was about to say something when the truck came to a sudden halt. Cloud heard the driver yell something about a monster, and Zack and Sephiroth started to rush outside. Cloud started to pick up his gun, when Zack turned around and said "Don't worry about it Cloud, me and Sephiroth can take care of this" and then he left. 'Of course they wouldn't want my help' Cloud thought, as he heard the sounds of the battle, the metal clashing on scales as Sephiroth struck the dragon, Zack's scream as he fell to its firey breath and then they both came back into the truck, Zack looking a little beat up, but he was fine. 'They didn't want my help because I'm weak' Cloud thought.  
  
A few hours later, they arrived at the gates to the town. Cloud was standing there, looking around without his helmet when he noticed her. There was Tifa, in a miniskirt with a white T-shirt, a vest and a cowboy hat. Recognizing her, he was about to yell to her, when he remembered he wasn't that famous SOLIDER he set out to be. Once again embarrassed by his failure, Cloud ran off and put his helmet on. When he got back, Tifa was looking the group over. She looked at Sephiroth and unlike most people, she didn't seem impressed or awe struck. The she looked at Zack and the other guard. Finally, her gaze fell on him.   
  
He stiffened, but she didn't notice and ran off. 'Why'd she run off' Cloud thought, before his thoughts were interupted by Sephiroth asking him something. "So hows does it feel?" he asked, and when Cloud didn't answear he added "This your first time back in your hometown in a long time isn't it? I wouldn't know, I don't have a hometown" Cloud decided to speak up "What about your parents?" he asked. Sephiroth got a strange look in his eye and said "My mother was Jenova. She died giving birth to me. and my father..." he paused then started to chuckle "What does it matter?" and he walked into the town, with Zack and the other grunt following him, while Cloud slowly followed behind.  
  
A/N: How did everyone like the first chapter. As you can see, I'm trying to use the in-game script as much as possible. If you notice anything wrong, please notify me. Also, since a large part of this story is taking place in scenes they didn't show in the game, any suggestions would be appreciated. Just to let you know, I'll try to follow the in-game script, but some scenes I'm adding on to. Well I'll try to update soon. 


	2. Home again

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII and I am not making any money from writing these stories so no sueing me!  
  
A/N: Sorry about the time it took to update. I was trying really hard to plan this chapter out ahead of time so that it would be really good. Well anyway I'm just gonna thank my reviewers now and then get to the story, so thanks to Shadowz, AnnatheAncient, The Omnipotent, Haruko-2020, and Cloti81953 for reviewing my first chapter and now on with the fic.  
  
Chapter Two: Home again...  
  
He slowly followed behind Sephiroth and Zack, getting a good look at the town he didn't want to see again. Despite his feelings about being home, he started to smile, noticing that the town had remained unchanged in the last two years. He felt a little better being home, even if he did feel like a failure. He was so busy looking around the town, he hadn't listened to a word that Sephiroth said, then Zack came up and slapped him on the shoulder. "What?" Cloud asked him, a little annoyed at being interupted from his thoughts again by his friend. "Sephiroth said you could visit any of your friends or family if you want to" and then Zack ran off, hoping to get a good look around Cloud's hometown. Cloud sighed and walked over to the well, feeling a wave of emotions as he looked at it. He felt happy as he remebered all the times he'd sit there and just listen to Tifa playing her piano, or just stare at the stars.   
  
He also felt a little bit of diappointment and dispaire as he remembered the promise he had made on that very well, and how he couldn't keep it. Suddenly, Cloud heard a sound that he hadn't heard in a long time. It was coming from Tifa's house and it was the sound of her playing her piano. Cloud had always found the music relaxing, and he started to lean against the well, content to just stay there and listen to it. Cloud stayed there for a few minutes, until he noticed someone passing by. It was Tifa's father. He looked at Cloud and had an aggrivated look on his face. 'Great' Cloud thought to himself in dismay 'even when he doesn't know its me he hates me'. Cloud just sighed and was ready to listen to the piano music again but Tifa had stopped, most likly to greet her father, and Zack walked up to Cloud.  
  
"Nice little town you got here" Zack said, still looking the place over from his spot next to Cloud "So which ones yours". Cloud just pointed at his house and said "That one" and then he just leaned back and looked away from ths house. "Your not going to visit your parents?" Zack asked, a little bit of dismay in his voice. "Maybe later" Cloud muttered, hoping Zack would change the subject. He had no intention of seeing anyone in town. Unfortunatley, Zack didn't drop the subject. "You know you should visit them, or they'll worry like crazy" Zack said, a little bit of a nostalgic tone to his voice. Cloud just nodded, remebering how late Zack would stay up at the barracks to make sure he had written a letter home every week. Cloud just sighed, realizing he hadn't even sent home one letter in the two years he had been gone.   
  
While he was thinking, Zack continued to pester him about visiting his mom, until Cloud finally had enough and just told him "Look, I have no intention of seeing anyone, okay!" and looked like he was about to storm off when Zack said "Because you didn't make it". Cloud knew exactly what he meant by that remark and just nodded his head. Zack sighed and told him "Where leaving early tomorrow so I suggest you get some sleep". It looked like he had more to say, but he just walked off to the inn. Once again alone, Cloud started to think about all the things that were running threw his head. He wondered to himself if it was really a good idea to hide himself away from everybody like he was doing.   
  
Cloud started wondering if anyone was worried that he hadn't come back, but then he remebered all the times the other kids picked on him and how when he got into fights he was the only one that got into trouble and he started to get angry. 'So what if they worry, thay can all go to hell!' Cloud thought to himself, felling old wounds reopening as he remebered how everyone used to treat him. 'Well not everyone' he thought before shaking his head and finally deciding it was time to get to bed. Cloud went in the inn and walked past Sephiroth, who was still by the window muttering something about the town being familiar, and went to the last bed and quickly feel alsleep, hoping he wouldn't be late tommorow for their mission.  
  
A/N: Well there the second chapter. I'm really sorry it took so long to update, but I promise I'll try to update faster. This chapter took longer because it barley involved anything from the game and took a lot of planning to get done. The other chapters should be easier to wrtie and should be posted faster. Well anywas I'll try to update soon and I hope you read and review. 


	3. To the Reactor

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, although I do own a copy of the game  
  
A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update! Really, I am! Well anyway, its time to thank my reviewers. First up is KyuuketsukiShounen, Cloti81953, wot wot wark, Shadowz, silvawolf, and Genoscythe. Thank you all for reviewing, and I hope you like the new chapter and don't hurt me because of how long it took me to update.  
  
Chapter Three: To the Reactor...  
  
Cloud was walking past the gates of his hometown with a big grin on his face. He looked himself over to make sure he looked good in his new uniform. He still couldn't believe he had finally made it into SOLDIER. Kepping that winning grin on his face, he walked into the town and saw something he hadn't been expecting, but had been hoping for. It seemed like the entire town was in front of him, with banners up saying "Welcome Back, Cloud!" and other such things and with that big grin still stuck on his face, Cloud joined the people in celebrating his homecoming. After awhile of partying and telling stories, Cloud noticed that their was one person he hadn't seen all day. Tifa. He started to look all over the town for her, but wasn't able to find her anywhere. He saddly decided to join the party again, but wasn't in such a happy mood anymore.   
  
When the party was over and everyone was going home, Cloud decided to sit on the well and think like he had done when he was a little kid. He sat there for nearly an hour, started to feel a little depressed, when he heard someone walking up behind him. He turned and saw the person he'd been looking for all day. With a big grin he scooted over so Tifa could sit next to him. They sat there in silence for what felt like hours, just staring at the stars. Then they both turned to each other like they had something to say, but neither of them said anything, they just looked at each other for a little bit. Then Cloud did something he never thought he could muster the strength to do. He suddenly found himself leaning closer to her, and she wasn't backing off. He couldn't believe this was happening. 'I might be able to kiss Tifa!' he thought as he got closer and closer to her. 'I have to be dreaming' he thought to himself.  
  
"WAKE UP!!!" Cloud shot up in his bed quickly, but was to close to the edge and fell off the bed. He got up off the ground grumbling about being woken up from the best dream ever. With an annoyed look on his face, Cloud glared at the other MP, who was trying and failing to hold back his laughter and left the room to get his uniform on. When he got back, he noticed Zack was still asleep and snoring loudly. "Think we should wake him up?" Cloud asked the MP. The MP just stood there for a little bit like he was thinking, then just said "Nah, let's go" and Cloud and the MP left, both chuckling, knowing Zack was gonna get in trouble for being late. They left the inn and walked over to where Sephiroth was waiting. He noticed them coming, but didn't say anything and they walked past him and waited by the path leading to the mountains.   
  
After just a few moments of waiting, Tifa walked up and Cloud got a suprised look on his face, although you couldn't see it since he was wearing his helmet. He saw her father with her, and heard as they started talking and realized that Tifa was their guide. He was about to say something when he realized it would have looked weird for an anonymous MP to be upset that she was coming with them. Deciding to just keep an eye on her, Cloud kept his mouth shut. Just then Zack ran up, sending an angry glance at Cloud and the other MP, who were both on the verge of laughing. Just as everyone was about to leave someone ran up and asked them if he could take their picture. Cloud and the other MP just stood there watching as Sephiroth, Zack, and Tifa all got their picture taken, and then the small group headed off towards the Nibel mountains.  
  
The group reached the mountains and started walking on the mountain path that lead to the reactor. When they reached the bridge Cloud froze, staring at the place that held one of his worst memories. The others kept going, not noticing that he had stopped. Cloud stood their, memories racing through his head of the time Tifa fell off that very bridge. 'Because I was too weak' he thought, and felt anger welling up inside of him. It wasn't anger at his tormentors like usual. It wasn't anger at the teachers or the instuctors who threw him out of the SOLIDER training program. It was anger at himself.   
  
Suddenly, he was snapped out of his little daydream by something hitting him on the back. Cloud took a look around him and noticed that Zack had hit him and was giving him a worried look. The others had also stopped and turned around, with the MP's expression unreadiable, Tifa looking confused, and Sephiroth keeping his usual cold expression. "You okay" Zack asked him, a hint of worry in his voice. "I'm fine" Cloud said, although he didn't sound like it. Before Zack could inquire more, Sephiroth spoke up "Let's go, we have a mission to do" and he started across the bridge, with the others following him. Cloud was the last one to start across the bridge and was still deep in thought when he heard a sound that sent a shiver up his spine. The sound of rope ripping was forever burned into Cloud's head as something to be feared, ever since he and Tifa fell off the bridge so many years ago. Now, he was hearing this sound again...  
  
A/N: Once again, I like to aplogize for the time it took me to update, but I've got finals and they've been taking my time away. Oh and KyuuketsukiShounen, thanks for the offer to proofread this, but I'm kinda new at this so I have no idea what you mean by beta read it (Yeah I know, you all probably think I'm an idiot now). Well anyway, I'll try to update faster when I get done with finals, but I don't think I'll be able to update until next week (unless I get really lucky). 


	4. Mission Accomplished?

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, so no sueing me! It's not like I'm making money off this *hides a twenty behind his back*  
  
A/N: Well it sure took me a long time to updte (stupid finals). I hope everyone likes the new chapter and I should thank silvawolf and wot wot wark for reviewing my last chapter. Also thanks to wot wot wark for telling me what beta-reading is. Anyway here is the new chapter and I really hope you like it.  
  
Chapter Four: Mission Accomplished?  
  
Cloud froze for just one second as he heard the ropes start to break. He noticed the ohters getting worried and confused looks on thier faces. Snapping out of his fear-filled daze, Cloud bolted foward, trying to reach the others. He only made it to the other MP before the rope finally gave away and the bridge broke. Cloud felt himself falling off the bridge for the second time in his life, and he started to feel the same guilt he'd felt last time. "I'm to weak" he whispered to himself, then everything went black as when he finally hit the ground.  
  
What felt like hours later, Cloud finally woke up, the back of his head throbbing from a rock he had hit. He tried to sit up and felt pain all over his body, and after looking himself over he found out why. He didn't have any major injuries, but his uniform was torn in several places and he had bloodstains from a multitude of small cuts. He also had bruises all over him and he noticed that a small pool of blood had formed next to his left leg.   
  
Examining his leg, he noticed the reason he couldn't stand up. Their was a long gash across his leg that, while not very deep, led from his kneecap to the top of his foot. He was about to try and patch up the injury himself when he head someone say "Cure 3" and felt a warm glow as the healing spell closed all of his wounds. Cloud stood up and noticed the only person with him was Sephiroth, who looked like the fall hadn't affected him at all. Sephiroth told Cloud to check his equipment and Cloud noticed he had lost everything except his rifle, a survival knife, and the X-Potion Zack had given him.   
  
With that done Cloud and Sephiroth walked off, looking for the others. It didn't take them long, since as soon as they had passed by a large rock on the trail, they noticed Zack and Tifa. The two of them looked a little beat up, but besides that they were okay. While Sephiroth and the others talked, Cloud noticed that Tifa had several small cuts and bruises just like he had and started to slip back into his depressing line of thinking. Well the others talked about were the missing MP was and how to get to the reactor, all Cloud could think was that he had failed again. He was so busy thinking about how weak he was, that he didn't notice the others had started to walk off until they were almost out of sight.   
  
Cloud quickly ran up to the others and noticed that neither Sephiroth nor Zack had noticed he had been daydreaming. Unfourtunaly for Cloud, someone else had noticed. "You okay?" the concered voice of Tifa asked him. "Yeah" Cloud said and hoped she'd drop the subject. Of course, she didn't drop it. "Are you worried about your friend?" Tifa asked him, a little hint of sadness in her voice. It took Cloud a moment to realize she mean the other MP "a little" Cloud said. The group continued to walk on in silence until they reached a mako fountain. Cloud just stood back and listened to the others talking and he let out a little sigh when he realized Zack didn't know much about materia. The little group continued on until they finally made it to their objective, the Nibelhelm Mako Reactor.  
  
Sephiroth and Zack went inside and ordered Cloud to stay outside and keep an eye on Tifa. At first the two of them kept quiet and didn't say anything to each other, until Tifa asked him something "Why'd you join the Guard?" she asked in a bored voice. Cloud just thought about for a second, then said "I didn't really want to". Now Tifa looked interested, "Well if you didn't want to, why'd you join?" she asked him, now sounding curious instead of bored. Cloud had a little debate with himself over how much he should tell her, then responded saying "I orginally wanted to join SOLIDER, but I wasn't good enough so I became a guard to make some money". "Oh that's to bad, but hey I'm sure you can try again, right?" she asked him, sounding hopeful. "Yeah, I can try again next spring" Cloud answeared truthfully. Tifa just nodded her head, then asked him "Did you meet anyone named Cloud while you were in Midgar?".   
  
Now Cloud was really getting nervous, mostly because he didn't like lying to her and the way the conversation was going, she'd ask him his name and he'd have to make something up. Luckily for Cloud, before he could answear he heard footsteps behind him and noticed Zack and Sephiroth come out of the reactor. Sephiroth looked diffrent, thought, like he just learned something horrible. Before Cloud could ask him what was wrong, Sephiroth brushed past him and started to walk back towards Nibelhelm. Zack, Tifa, and Cloud all looked at each other with confused expressions, and then started to follow Sephiroth.  
  
The trip back was uneventful and when Sephiroth got back, he immediatly went into the Shinra Mansion. After saying a quick goodbye to Tifa, Zack and Cloud followed Sephiroth into the mansion.  
  
A/N: Well I hope everyone likes the new chapter and I'd once again like to say sorry for how long it took me to write it. 


	5. Searching for Sephiroth

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII.  
  
A/N: Sorry about the update time, but I lost my internet connection plus I had a lot of school work. Anyway now I'll thank the reviewers and get on with the fic. So thanks to BJ Louis, silvawolf, Shadowz, That girl next door, and Aeris-TheWhiteMageofCetras. Well now I'll get on with the fic.  
  
Chapter Five: Searching for Sephiroth  
  
The door to the Shinra mansion creaked loudly as it slid open. Cloud entered first with his rifle leveled, ready to shoot anything that might try to attack him. When nothing came out he moved further into the mansion and Zack followed him in. The two of them took a quick look around the first room of the mansion. Cloud and Zack looked at each other, nodded, then headed in diffrent directions with Zack looking around the first floor and Cloud going up the stairs.   
  
At the top of the stairs Cloud went to the left and reached three doors. Cloud first tried the door on the left, kicking it open and pointing his rifle inside to make sure there weren't any monsters. Then he noticed there was nothing in the room except some beds and a few other unimportant items. Of course there was no Sephiroth either so Cloud decided to check the room to the right of the one he was in now. He once again kicked the door open and now was aiming his rifle at a room full of plants. "Scary" Cloud muttered sarcasticlly. Cloud then approached the third room.  
  
Cloud stopped at the door to this room, however, because he was getting a bad feeling. He couldn't explain it but he had this feeling in his gut that he shoulnd't go in there. Ignoring that feeling, he kicked the door open and found himself staring at another empty room. Then he noticed the safe and for some reason started to approach. The closer Cloud got to the safe the worse the feeling in his gut got. He walked in front of the safe and tryed to decide wether or not to try and open it. Shaking his head, he walked out of the room. "Why I was even thinking of opening that, I've got to look for Sephiroth" Cloud thought then continued on till he reached the stairs again.   
  
Now he headed the other way and when he reached the area where the hallway parted he headed down the left hallway. He heard some creaks in the floor but ignored it and checked the room at the end of the hall. He looked inside just to see that the room was full of junk. Sighing to himself he walked into the room that was on the right side of the hallway. He noticed that this room led to another bedroom. He walked into the bedroom and looked around. All he saw was a single bed, some other items he wouldn't need, and a strange wall. It looked like it was made of stone. Cloud started to walk toward it, not noticing something coming up behind him.  
  
"Hey Cloud!" Zack cheefully said behind the yound MP. Cloud, not expecting to hear anything, nearly jumped out of his skin. He dropped his rifle and whirled around to see Zack laughing at him. "ZACK! WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU! DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!" Cloud helled as loud as he could. Zack just started to chuckle, then got serious. "Any sign of Sephiroth?" he asked Cloud. Cloud lowered his head as if ashamed and just let out a barley audible "No". Zack noticed his friend slipping back into depression, and thought he'd try to cheer him up. "Come on Cloud, will find him" Zack said.   
  
Cloud just nodded then walked over to the strange stone wall. "Yeah I guess so but where could he..." Cloud didn't get a chance to finish as he leaned against the stone wall and it suddenly slid out of the way. Not expecting it, Cloud fell backward into the room beyond the wall. Zack looked suprised and started to rush forward as Cloud tumbled onto an old wooden spiral staircase and started to fall off the to step...  
  
A/N: Well I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please don't kill me for the cliffhanger. Especially since this is something that happens before the game so you should realize nothings going to happen to Cloud. Unless you haven't played the game, but then why would you be in the FFVII section? I'm gonna shut up now. 


	6. Found Him

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, so STOP FOLLOWING ME!  
  
A/N: Well everybody before you kill me in ways the I can't even imagine, allow me to sincerely aplogize for the time it took to update. Also I had to watch my little brother for a couple of days (and he's only 4 so I had to actually pay attention to him), then my older brother was on the internet all day for the last couple days so I have excuses. Anyway, now I should thank my reviewers, so thanks to Shadowz for reviewing chapter 5 and Cyberfox for reviewing chapter 1. Anyway, On With The Fic!  
  
Chapter Six: Found Him  
  
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Cloud yelled as he fell from the top of the staircase, now able to get a good look at the distance between him and the ground. He only feel for a second, though, before he felt himself stop. He looked up and noticed Zack's hand wrapped around one of his legs. Cloud looked back down and felt his helmet sliding off. Before he could stop it, his helmet slid off and fell quickly to the ground below, making a loud banging noise when it hit. Cloud gulped, realising what a fall like that would do to him. Shaking his head to clear the mental images of his own death, Cloud felt something grab his other leg, and barley had time to do anything before Zack pulled him back onto the stairs. They both sat their for a few second, breathing heavily before Cloud managed to mutter a quick "Thanks" and got up to retrieve his rifle.   
  
After he got his rifle, he and Zack started to head down the stairs. Zack was in the lead with his Buster Sword drawn and Cloud was following behind him, still a little shaken from almost falling to his death. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Cloud picked up his helmet and put it back on, then followed Zack down the hallway. The hallway looked more like a cavern and the two soliders a bad feeling, so they tried to hurry down the hall. They came upon a door built into the cavern wall on their left. Cloud got in front of it and tried to kick it open like he did with the other doors, but right after his foot connected with the door he fell back with a yell of pain and grabbed his leg. Luckily for Cloud they taught the MPs how to kick open door without hurting yourself and he only suffred from some pain in his leg. He and Zack stared at the door and wiped some dusts off of it, uncovering a sign on the door.  
  
The sign read "Beware, He sleeps here" and it freaked Cloud and Zack out. They hurried down the hall until they found another door that read "Research Lab" and they quickly entered the room. The first thing they noticed was that the room looked more like a library with several bookshelves full of books. They also noticed some odd tube like things along one wall and some medical instruments on a table in the middle of the room that they didn't want to know what they were for. They searched the room for a little bit before they noticed a figure stitting at a desk, surrounded by bookshelves as well as books that nearly covered the desk he was sitting at. The figure was unmistakable to both Cloud and Zack. They had finally found Sephiroth.  
  
"Hey Sephiroth!" Zack yelled and rushed over to stand in front of the general. Sephiroth ignored him and continued to read, as if he was poessesed. "Sephiroth what are you doing down here?" Zack asked him and still got no response from the man. "Sephiroth are you all ri..." Zack started to say but didn't get a chance to finish as Sephiroth looked at him with his cold, emotionless eyes. Zacks words got stuck in his throat as he saw how Sephiroth was staring at him, and Sephiroth returned to reading the book, barly muttering "Go Away". Cloud got a bad feeling in his gut again and he quickly left the lab along with Zack. "Well, what do we do now" Cloud asked Zack as they were walking back upstairs. "We can't just leave Sephiroth here, and somethings definatly wrong with him, so we'll move all our gear into the mansion and stay here" Zack said, using his commanding tone of voice. Cloud just let out a sigh, knowing that the more time he spent in town the better chance somebody figure out who he was.  
  
After reaching the top floor, Cloud and Zack traveled outside and quicly went into the inn, picking up all the gear they'd left their, like their extra weapons, ammunition and most importatly, food. As soon as they finished bringing their stuff to the mansion, Zack went into one of the bags they'd brought along with him and pulled out two wooden swords. Cloud just smiled as Zack handed him his sword and the two of them started sparring in the Main Hall.  
  
A/N: Once again I'm sorry for the update time and I'm also sorry if the chapters are a little short. I've tried to write longer chapters, but it doesn't seem to work, so I'll just try to update faster to make up for the chapter length. Well anyways, I hope everyone likes the new chapter and I will try to update this by Sunday if I can. 


	7. A Night on the Town

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, and I never will *sob*  
  
A/N: Sorry once again for the update time, but this chapter turned out to be harder to write than I thought. Anyway, I'd like to thank my only reviewer KukaruiValentine for reviewning chapter one. Anyway on with the fic I guess  
  
Chapter Seven: A Night on the Town  
  
Cloud ducked from the blow that was aimed at his neck. Zack threw to much strength into his last attack and was still following through even though Cloud had ducked instead of jumping back, which Zack had expected him to do. Cloud took the oppurtunity to swing his wooden blade in an upward slash. Faster than any normal person could move, Zack dodged the blow and hit Cloud across the ribs with his wooden sword. Cloud's face contorted in pain even though Zack had tried to make the blow light and Cloud fell onto his knees from the force of the hit.  
  
Cloud stayed on his knees until he was able to get up on his own, ignoring the hand Zack offered him. Zack wasn't offended, however, as Cloud had never excepted his help after their matches. Zack put a small smile on his face as he remebered back when he and Cloud where still in the training program for SOLIDER and Cloud would always refuse help from anyone. Zack knew Cloud well enough to know that it was because he wanted to prove he was strong, just liked he always dreamed of being. Zack's smile faded as Cloud walked off to give Sephiroth his lunch and Zack remebered their situation. It was their third day in the small mountain town and ever since yesterday Sephiroth hadn't left the library or eaten any of the food Cloud and Zack brought him.  
  
A few minutes later Cloud came back up with another tray full of food, the breakfast that Zack had tried to give to Sephiroth that morning. Neither Cloud nor Zack had any doubt that Sephiroth wasn't going to eat the last meal they had given him, but they gave it to him just in case. With their job of babysittng Sephiroth done for now, the two warriors resumed what they were doing before. After a few more sparring matches and Cloud actually winning one of them, much to Zack's suprise, they were both to exhausted to fight anymore and started to get bored since there wasn't very many other things to do. Then Zack got an idea and got an evil grin on his face. Cloud noticed this and got a bad feeling in his gut.  
  
"Zack what are you planning?" Cloud asked his friend, alrady prepared for the worst.  
  
"How about a night on the town?" Zack asked Cloud back with a sly grin on his face. Cloud just stared at Zack for a minuter, then finally registered what he just said.  
  
"ARE YOU NUTS?!?" Cloud half asked, half screamed at Zack, who still had that grin on his face. "If I go into town in my MP suit, everyone going to get suspicious and I obviously can't go into town with my normal cloths cause everyone will know its me!" Cloud continued to yell at his friends seemingly stupid plan.  
  
"You'll go in disguise" Zack said in a smooth voice, then walked up to the room where they left all their stuff and came down with a bag Cloud hadn't noticed before. From the bag Zack pulled out several items, all of them related to disguising someones apperance. Cloud stared at the items for a second before looking over at his friend with a curious expression on his face.  
  
"You've been planning this for awhile, haven't you Zack?" Cloud asked him, and Zack just nodded his head like an excited little kid. Cloud sighed and said "Fine I'll go, since even if I said no you'd probably order to go anyway" and Zack just stared at him for a second, pretending to be hurt. Then they started to work on Cloud's disguise. When they got done, Cloud took a moment to inspect his new look. He was now wearing casual cloths, a pair of boots, blue jeans, a black T-Shirt, and a light blue jacket with a Shin-Ra logo on the back. To complete his disguise, he was wearing a hat that he and Zack somehow managed to cover his spikey hair. He also had a pair of contats in his eyes that made his eyes look like they were green instead of blue. Cloud decided not to ask Zack where he got any of this stuff.  
  
It had taken them hours to get ready, so before they went out they took Sephiroth his dinner and, just as they had expected, brought back up his lunch, which was left untouched. Still a little worried about their commander, Cloud and Zack decided to head out now so they could relieve some of the stress of taking care of Sephiroth. As they were walking out of the mansion and Cloud was leading them to the nearest Restaraunt/Bar in the little town, Zack started to get excited.  
  
"Were gonna have some fun tonight!" Zack said happily, then he added with a sly grin "Maybe we can pick us up some ladies". Cloud just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Cloud asked his friend and he noticed Zack get a annoyed look on his face.  
  
"What, I can have a little fun can't I?" Zack asked Cloud in a tone that was on the verge of whining, "Besides it's not like I'm actually going to do anything with them, I just wanna party a little". Cloud just sighed at his friends behaviour and then they both stayed silent until they made it to the restaraunt. The first thing they noticed while walking in was everyone stop and stare at them. Then they noticed a strange person sitting near the bar that was connected to the restaurant. They decided to get a quick bite of decent food before doing anything else, but they felt kinda odd as people kept staring at them and a few people where glaring at them, like they shouldn't be there. When they got done eating, they walked over to the bar, near the strange person which they now noticed was wearing a fighting outfit and what apperared to be a red cape.  
  
They sat next to the stranger and ordered some drinks, though Cloud had to get a milk since he was only sixteen and he noticed some of the other patrons snicker at his choice of drink. Zack having recently reached the age that he no longer needed his fake I.D. was already starting to drink his fill. Cloud took a glance at the strange old man sitting next to them with the odd outfit and gasped. He recognized the old man from some videos they had been forced to watch while learning hand to hand fighting in SOLIDER's training camp. The old man was Zanagan, one of the if not the best martial artist in the world. Cloud just stared amazed at Zanagan, trying to figure out why someone like him would be in a town like this. After a minute or so, Zanagan noticed Cloud staring.  
  
"Can I help you?" Zanagan asked Cloud, keeping his cool instead of being angry which Cloud had expected him to be.  
  
"Your Zanagan, right?" Cloud asked with disbelief evident in his voice.  
  
"Yes I am" Zanagan answeared simply and, predicting Cloud's next question continued saying "I'm here to see one of my best students". Cloud noticed he said that last part with a lot of pride and decided to question him further. Before Cloud could, however, Zack walked back up to him with an embarassed expression on his face. It seemed he had walked off to talk to some ladies while Cloud was talking to Zanagan and he hadn't had much luck with them.  
  
"Come on Cloud, let's go" Zack said, obviously not in the mood to "pary" anymore.  
  
"You go on ahead Zack, I'll be back later" Cloud said to Zack, and Zack just shrugged and walked off. Then cloud turned back to Zanagan, intent on finding out who his student was. "So whose you student?" he asked, curious who in the little town could possibly be one of Zanagan's best students.  
  
"A local girl by the name of Tifa" Zanagan replied and Cloud's eyes went wide with shock and suprised and he didn't know what to say.  
  
"Tifa...Lockhart?" Cloud finally managed to say, with disbelief and suprise in his voice. It wasn't like their was anyone else in the town named Tifa, but Cloud was to suprised to think before he spoke. Zanagan noticed this and decided to figure out why Cloud seemed so suprised.  
  
"Yes, why do you know her?" Zanagan asked him, and Cloud quickly realized his mistake in saying her full name. Cloud was silent for a few seconds until he thought of away to answear Zanagan.  
  
"Not really, but she went with us to the reactor and I was just a little suprised to hear she was one of your students" Cloud said and then sighed with relief, thinking he was out of the situation.  
  
"So that's why you know her full name, and why it took you a second to think of what you were going to say" Zanagan said to him with obvious disbelief in his voice. Cloud cursed to himself under his breath, then decided he shouldn't stay here much longer.  
  
"Uh..I gotta go" Cloud said quickly and before Zanagan could say anything Cloud walked out of the bar.   
  
Cloud was walking quickly back to the mansion, hoping not to run into anyone else on his way home. He noticed it had gotten dark out while he and Zack had been at the bar and started to think about his life. Without even realizing he walked to his favorite place to think, the well in the middle of town. Cloud was about to walk past the well when he hear someone sigh. Suprised by the noise, Cloud slowly crept up to the well so that he wouldn't suprise whoever was there and alert them to his presence. He was suprised when he noticed the person sitting on the well was none other than Tifa. She was staring at the stars and her knees up to her chest with her hands wrapped around her legs. Cloud knew he shouldn't stay there because if he did she might notice him, but for some reason he didn't want to leave either. Before he could do anything else, he felt someone's hand wrap around his mouth and he was dragged off to a nearby alley.  
  
Cloud was thrown to the ground in the middle of the alley and couldn't see much until someone lit a lantern. Once the lantern was lit, he noticed three men in front of him, all of them were bigger than he was and they looked like they'd had a little to much to drink. Cloud also noticed that they all seemed to be from the bar he and Zack had gone to and where some of the people who were glaring at them. Also one of them seemed to have some kind of metal pipe in his hand and Cloud started to get worried, wondering how much these people were planning on hurting him. Before he could ask the obvious question of why they had dragged him here, one of them lunged forward in an attempt to punch him. The man was drunk, however, and his blow was slow so Cloud easily dodged it and quickly hit the man in the face, sending him to the ground. Taking this as his cue, the second man charged at him. These man wasn't as inhibited as the first and while Cloud was able to dodge his punch the man got out of the way of Cloud's counterattack.  
  
The third man with the pipe took this oppurtunity to move forward and while Cloud was distracted fighting the other man, he brought the pipe down on Cloud's left shoulder. Cloud cried out in pain, then the second man that he had been fighting took this chance to knock Cloud up against one of the alley's walls and started to hit Cloud in the ribs. Cloud started to get worried as the man with the pipe walked closer to him and looked more than willing to use it on him again. Before Cloud try to do anything, someone yelling was heard.  
  
"What are you doing?!?" yelled a female voice, and Cloud looked over to notice Tifa standing at the entrance to the alley, staring at the scene taking place. Cloud was also happy to notice that her teacher, Zanagan was standing next to her. The two men who were beating Cloud up, since the third one was still down for the count, just stopped and stared at the new arrivals without saying anything. The man that was punching Cloud backed off and Cloud started to slide down the wall, not having much strength left to stand up. Tifa quickly walked over to him while glaring at his attckers and Zanagan followed her while keeping his eyes on the two men. What happened next seemed like a blur to Cloud. As soon as Tifa started to help him up, the nearby man with the pipe muttered something under his breath that Cloud couldn't catch, then swung the pipe at him and Tifa. Zanagan moved to stop the man, but Cloud didn't think he'd make it in time and quickly pushed Tifa out of the way. The next thing Cloud knew he felt the pipe strike the side of his head, heard someone gasp and felt himself hit the ground before everything went dark...  
  
A/N: Sorry about the time it took me to update this, but I think this turned out better becasue I took more time to think of this than I spent on my others chapters. Also until recently I wasn't sure how I wanted to do this chapter. Oh and sorry if anybody's mad about the cliffhanger, but I just can't seem to avoid doing them for the life of me. Oh while, I guess I'll just try to update sooner next time. 


	8. The Morning After

Disclaimer: You know I don't own FFVII so I'm not going to tell you that I don't  
  
A/N: Okay before the lynch mobs come to get me, I'm really sorry for the time it took me to update. Seriously, this is the longest it's ever taken me to write a chapter. Well, anyways I'll thank the reviewers who hopefully won't kill me for the update time. An especially big thanks to Shadowz for being the only person to review chapters six and seven. Anyway, I'll start the chapter now, and just to let you know, this one's going to start from Tifa POV before she sees Cloud get in the fight. On with the fic I guess, oh and by the way I'm going to spell Tifa's teahcer's name Zangan now because one of my reviewers said I spelled it wrong and I can't seem to find anything that says his name, so if anyone knows how to spell his name correctly and their sure that's how its spelled can you please tell me.  
  
Chapter Eight: The Morning After  
  
Tifa sat on the well, looking up at the stars with her knees brought up to her chest and sighed. She liked to sit here and stare at the stars at night when her farther wasn't around to talk to. Her dad was busy fixing that old bride with a couple of workers from the small town. She couldn't help but think of a promise she had made with a young boy named Cloud two years ago. She was so busy thinking she didn't notice someone walking up to her until he spoke.  
  
"Hi there Tifa" someone said from right next to her and she jumped, nearly falling off the well. She looked like she was going to get mad till she saw who it was.  
  
"Zangan! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She exclaimed in an annoyed voice that made her sound angry, but the angry image went away as soon as she put a big grin on her face. They started to reminice well walking around the town until they walked by an alley that had a light on in it. If that wasn't suprising enough, they heard the sounds of a fight coming from the alley. They both ran over to the entrance to the alley and noticed the scene taking place.   
  
There were four people in the alley, one on the ground face down and out like a light, and two others ganging up on a lone man who was currently pushed up to a wall and getting hit in the ribs repeadeatly. Tifa recognized the men doing the attacking as a few locals who were know to pick fights when they got drunk and realized after looking over the man they were beating up that he was a Shin-Ra employee, since his jacket looked like a Shin-Ra jacket and the Shin-Ra logo was on the hat. The Shin-Ra weren't very popular in the moutain town and Tifa highly doubted anyone from the town would wear Shin-Ra clothes.  
  
It was around this time that Tifa noticed something she hadn't expected. In the arms of one of the attackes was a pipe. These men had gotten into a light of fights, especially when they were drunk, but they had never brought something like that with them. Tifa started wondering just how much they were going to hurt the young MP and decided to intervene.  
  
"What are you doing?!?" she yelled and everyone in the alley looked at her, with the exception of the knocked out drunk. The MP looked suprised, but the two drunks didn't, as they were used to her breaking up their fights. They didn't say anything and backed away from their victim. The MP started to slid down the wall, no longer having the strength to stand. Tifa started to get worried, wondering just how badly they'd beaten the poor young man, and walked over to help him to his feet. What happened when she reached him was something she had never expected to happen.   
  
When she started to help the young solider up, she heard a muttered curse from one of the drunks. Turning quickly, she was suprised to see the man with the pipe aiming it at her. She had broken up their fights on many occasions and they had never tried to attack her, as they were to afraid of what her dad would do to them if they hurt her. Of course, they never considered what Tifa could do to them, but since she was helping the solider she couldn't bring her guard up fast enough. She didn't have to, however, as just before the pipe struck she felt herself being pushed away. She gasped as she saw the pipe strike the young man's head.  
  
The drunk had a smug look on his face for the whole two seconds it took for Zangan to reach him and plant his fist in his face. The drunk went to the ground quickly, with what looked like teeth falling out of his mouth. The last remaining drunk tried to hit Zangan, thinking he could defeat him while he was distracted by his friend. Zangan waited till the last moment, right before the fist hit him, and he grabbed the man's arm and used his opponent's own momentum against him, leaving him sprawled on the ground, a look of pain on his face. Then Zangan walked over to look at the wounded young man and with Tifa's help he started to carry him towards the Shin-Ra mansion.  
  
***( Cloud's POV again )***  
  
Cloud slowly started to open his eyes, trying to focus on his surrondings. It took a few minutes, but his vision cleared and he was able to see a ceiling above his head. Suprised, he quickly sat up and his head immediatly started to throb. He felt himself get dizzy again, but didn't lie back down, determined to find out where he was. After a few minutes, the throbbing pain in his head went away and Cloud took a good look at his surroundings. He quickly realized he was in the bedroom of the Shin-Ra mansion. Cloud started to recall what had happened the night before and tried to figure out how he made it to the mansion. As if on cue to answer his questions, Zack walked into the room, carrying a tray of food.  
  
"Hey Cloud! See you finally woke up" Zack said, setting the tray of food on a table near where Cloud was laying.  
  
"What the hell happened?" Cloud asked with a confused expression on his face.  
  
"You got attacked by the local drunks and hit in the head" Zack stated like it was an everyday occurence. "Of course, I doubt it hurt you judging by how thick-headed you are" he added with a sly grin on his face. Cloud's expression changed from confused to pissed off in record time.  
  
"This isn't funny you dumbass, If I got attacked how the hell did I get back here!?!" Cloud yelled at his friend. Zack looked a little suprised at how fast he managed to get under Cloud's skin, then just grinned knowing how Cloud would react to what he was about to say.  
  
"Oh that Tifa girl and her teacher brought you here" Zack said in a calm tone, like it made everything okay. Cloud suddenly seemed to turn pale the second Zack had finished talking. With a worried expression he continued to quesion his friend.  
  
"T..Tifa brought me back here!" Cloud barley managed to say before asking what was a very important question to him. "Did she find out it was me?" Zack did everything he could to hide his grin, knowing Cloud was going to kill him for what he was about to do.  
  
"Yeah, she found it was you, and let me tell you, she was really pissed that you tried to hide your identity" Zack took a look at Cloud and had to hold back laughing at his shocked expression before returing to his story "Yeah she was really mad at first, but then I told her you were only hiding yourself because you were embarassed and she started to feel really bad about being mad at you" Zack once again paused to look at Cloud and had even more trouble holding back his laughter at Cloud's relieved expression. 'Cloud's going to kill me for this!' Zack thought, but that didn't stop him from continuing.  
  
"As a matter of fact she said you looked quite handsome in your uniform" Zack continued and when Cloud started to blush, Zack decided to finish up his little story. "Actually, she was so happy to see you and grateful that you took that hit for her, that she volunteered to take care of you herself" Zack took another look at Cloud and noticed how red he had become and started to look around the room, knowing that if he looked at Cloud's face he'd probably burst out laughing. "Yeah, it's kinda strange cause she brought you up to the room, but she didn't come down for hours, and I kept hearing odd noises the whole time she was up here..." Zack trailed off as he finally looked at Cloud and noticed a blank expression on his face.  
  
'Did he really believe that' Zack thought, then his thoughts were interupted when something hit him in the face. Zack was suprised and as soon as he pulled the object off his face, he realized it was Cloud's pillow. Zack looked up just in enough time to see Cloud lunging at him as Cloud tackled Zack.  
  
A/N: Well I'm really sorry for how long it took me to update, and I hope eveyone likes my slight attempt at humor in the conversation between Zack and Cloud. If you don't like it, just tell me and I'll stop trying to throw jokes in. Anyways, I'll try to update a lot faster next time. 


	9. It begins

Disclaimer: I know its sad and I really don't want to admit it, but I don't own FFVII  
  
A/N: Well I'm back and since everyone came here to read the story, I'm going to quickly thank my reviewer Shadowz, who seems to be the only person reading this, and I'm going to get on with the next chapter. Oh and thanks Shadowz for checking out Zangan's name for me.  
  
Chapter Nine: It Begins...  
  
Cloud finished putting his uniform on several minutes after he got done fighting with Zack. Cloud took a good look around the room he was in. He noticed his rifle was laid against one of the walls and his belt was on a table, with his handgun still in the holster. Cloud put the belt on and walked out of the room, ignoring Zack who was snickering, and he walked to the kitchen. He grabbed Sephiroth's breakfast and started to head to the bedroom with the secret door.  
  
Cloud started to descend down the steps leading to the laboratory that Sephiroth hadn't come out of since their return to the little town. The entire way down, Cloud felt a chill down his spine, like something was telling him to get away from there. He ignored it and continued on to the lab, stopping only to stare at the one room in the mansion they hadn't entered yet, that mysterious locked room in the basment. Just looking at in sent chills down Cloud's spine and he decided to hurry up and get to the lab. When he entered and started to set Sephiroth's food on the table, he nearly jumped out of his skin in suprise.  
  
Sephiroth was sitting at the desk in the part of the lab that looked like a library, glaring at Cloud. Once again Cloud felt a chill down his spine and somewhere deep down Cloud wondered if Sephiroth was going to kill him. Sephiroth started smirking then, as if he was enjoying the fear his glare was putting into Cloud. Without a second thought Cloud left Sephiorth's food on a table and quickly left the room, pratically running up the stairs to escape the look Sephiroth had on his face. Once he'd made it back upstairs, Cloud turned towards the secret door and started to back away, as if he was making sure Sephiroth wasn't following him. Then he felt himself bump into something.  
  
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Cloud yelled at the top of his lungs and spun around, drawing his handgun as he turned. When Cloud was done turning, he had his gun pointed at Zack, the barrel just inches from his face. Zack had a suprised look on his face, and he quickly smacked the gun away from his face.  
  
"Cloud what the hell's wrong with you?!?" Zack yelled then notieced Cloud was breathing heavily and was pale. Zack noticed Cloud had a deathgrip on the gun that was still in his hand. "Cloud, what's wrong?" Zack asked, this time in a calmer tone. Cloud continued to breath heavily until he finally caught his breath and he looked at Zack like he had just noticed he was there.  
  
"Sephiroth seems....diffrent." was Cloud's only reply to Zack's question. Zack sent a worried look down the stair leading to their commander. Zack then turned back to Cloud and noticed he still looked agitated. He hadn't even let go of the gun yet. Zack figured Cloud needed some time to relax while he tried to figure out what was wrong with Sephiroth, so after he managed to calm Cloud down he sent him outside to get some fresh air. Cloud now stood outside, leaning against the old well and thinking about what had happend that morning. Cloud had been outside by the well for several hours now and he spent the entire time trying to think of why Sephiroth had looked at him like that.  
  
As Cloud was thinking, he didn't notice someone walking up behind him. The figure slowly walked up till it was right behind Cloud and tapped him on the shoulder. Cloud pratically jumped out of his skin and spun around, facing the person who had snuck up on him. He had to stop himself from gasping in suprise when he noticed who it was. Cloud's mother was standing there, trying to suppress her laughter at his reaction. She stopped laughing after a few seconds and started talking to Cloud  
  
"Pardon me, but can I ask you something" she said after she managed to control her laughter.   
  
"Sure" Cloud said, curious as to what she wanted to ask him.  
  
"Do you know anyone named Cloud?" she asked him, worry evident in her tone. Cloud sighed and thought about the question. 'Why did she have to ask that?' Cloud thought to himself before trying to think of the best response. It was obvious from her tone and the look in her eyes that she was worried about him. If he said he didn't know, she'd just get even more worried. Cloud finally decided what to say.  
  
"Yeah I know him, he's..." Cloud didn't have a chance to finish before his mother interupted him.  
  
"Oh thank goodness, I've been worried sick about him." She said before gesturing toward her house and saying "Please come in, dinner's almost ready and you can tell me about Cloud." Cloud considered refusing he offer, but noticed the pleading look she had on her face and decided to accept. After they'd already entered the house, Cloud realized something. 'Damn! If I'm gona eat I'll have to take my helmet off! Well, I guess I'll just have to say I'm not hungry' Cloud thought, happy with his plan. Unfortunatly, his stomach wasn't and it chose that specific moment to growl very loudly. Cloud's mom chuckled and decided to say something.  
  
"Go ahead and have some dinner Cloud" she said in a casual tone. Cloud was about to say something when he realized what she had said. 'Wait, she said Cloud! Does she know it's me?' Cloud was deep in thought and didn't notice that his mom had started laughing a little at his obvious confusion. "I know it's you Cloud, so go ahead and take your helmet off" She said, sounding like she was starting to get a little annoyed at how confused he was.   
  
"How'd you know it was me?" Cloud asked her as he took his helmet off.  
  
"A week before you arrived, Shin-Ra told us who they were sending here in a list and your name was on it, so Tifa's dad told me you where coming." She said casually, then offered Cloud a seat at the table. Cloud sat down, but he wasn't done with his questions just yet.  
  
"How'd you know I wasn't the MP that went missing on the mountain trail" Cloud asked, very curious as to what her answer would be.   
  
"You spent a lot of time around the well just like you did when you were little." She said in a nostalgic tone. Cloud sighed and asked an important question that just occured to him.  
  
"If you and Tifa's father know I'm here, how come it seems like Tifa doesn't" Cloud's mother's smile dropped a little bit when he said that.  
  
"Tifa's father decided not to tell her you were coming because he doesn't want you around her, and I figured I'd leave it up to you to tell her" She answered and started setting food on the table. Cloud just stared off into space for a little bit, thinking about everything that was complicating his life at the moment.  
  
After dinner, Cloud and his mom started to have some small talk about whether the Shin-Ra were doing a good job of taking care of Cloud (his mom got worried when Cloud had said her dinner was some best food he'd had in months), and then she brought up a topic Cloud didn't like at all.  
  
"You know, there are a lot of temptations in the city." Cloud's mom sounded very worried as she said that. "I think you should have an older girlfriend, one that could take care of you" She added and if she had been looking at Cloud when she said that she would have noticed his eye twitch a little. He hated it when she wanted to talk about him finding a girlfriend.  
  
"Not interested" he said in the same monotonous voice he always used when his mother started talking about his personal life. He heard his mom sigh like she did everytime he gave her that answer and he got up from the bed he had been laying on. "I don't need someone to take care of me, I can take care of myself now" Cloud said to her, and regretted that his tone sounded annyoed. He was about to apologize for how he sounded when she said something that caught him by suprise.  
  
"I know Cloud, I'm just worried about you." She said and before Cloud could say anthing she continued. "Remember Cloud, I'll always be your mother. If you need anything just ask me." Cloud just smiled and nodded his head, then waved goodbye as he put his helmet on and headed outside, on his way to the mansion to talk with Zack about Sephiroth. Just as Cloud exited his old house, he heard a gate open with a loud squeaking noise. Cloud turned around and was suprised to see the last person he expected to see leaving the mansion. Sephiroth was walking outside, looking around at the town with nothing but hate and disgust in his eyes. Cloud's instincts told him to stay alert, and the look Sephiroth had on his face made Cloud put his hand on his gun.  
  
Before Cloud realized what happened, one of the houses in Nibelhelm pratically exploded into flames as Sephiroth casted a Fire 3 spell on it. Cloud was to shocked to do anything until Sephiroth blew up another house. The fire was quickly spreading around the town and Cloud realized that if Sephiroth kept it up the whole town might burn down. Drawing his gun he was about to yell at Sephiroth to stop when he noticed that Sephiroth was aiming at a new house. His house. Cloud didn't even think about it before he aimed his gun at Sephiroth's head and pulled the trigger...  
  
A/N: Sorry about taking so long to update but I had serious writer's block about what to write with this chapter. Well I hoped you liked it, and I'll try to write the next chapter quicker, though I doubt I'll be able to because it's probably going to be the last chapter and I need to think of a great way to end this. 


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